Campaigning for Organ Donation at Mosques

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Public Health
• Islamic Bioethics

Background:

• Efforts to increase organ donation among Muslims involve faith leaders at mosques.
• Concerns exist about insufficient information on organ donation risks in religious settings.
• Published literature highlights safety issues in living and end-of-life organ donation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the ethical implications of organ donation promotion in mosques.
• To assess the alignment of current organ donation campaigns with Islamic moral principles.
• To recommend standards for information disclosure in religious organ donation outreach.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of safety concerns in organ donation.
• Analysis of Islamic ethical principles regarding harm, beneficence, and truthfulness.
• Examination of current organ donation information disseminated in mosques.

Main Results:

• Organ donation promotion in mosques often lacks comprehensive risk disclosure.
• Living donation involves long-term risks and end-of-life donation faces medical controversies.
• Islamic ethics prioritize preventing harm and demand truthful, complete information.

Conclusions:

• Organ donation campaigns in mosques should provide complete information, including risks and uncertainties.
• Selective disclosure of information contradicts Islamic moral precepts.
• A minimal standard of disclosing all risks, uncertainties, and controversies is recommended.